SILENT MOBIUS ZETA

ADAPTING OTHER CREATURES TO SILENT MOBIUS

When developing Lucifer Folk character sheets for a Silent Möbius campaign, the Game Master faces the daunting task of developing a virtual horde of unearthly monsters, each different from the last. Fortunately,there are several sources one can go to in order to find pre-created creatures that can quickly and easily be converted into Lucifer Folk, as well as providing various other supernatural opponents for the AMP to deal with.

CALL OF CTHULHU
Probably the best all-around source for Lucifer Folk is the game Call of Cthulhu. The Lucifer Folk from Silent Möbius are obviously adapted from Lovecraft's stories, and many (if not all) of the creatures found in the core rulebook (as well as the Creature Companion and The Dreamlands books) work quite well as Entities in a Silent Möbius campaign.

When adapting a creature from CoC to Hero, the following method is used.

Note that the CoC book gives a range of characteristics for all creatures and the numbers actually given represent the "average" specimen of that type. For example, a Star Vampire is listed as having a 25 STR. This is only for an "average" Star Vampire, the actual range is 16 STR to 36 STR. For humans, most characteristics fall between 3-18 and average 11, which is just a touch above average for Hero. For certain very large creatures (Dholes for example) their STR is too high for Hero and needs to be scaled back (a Dhole has an average STR of 550!).

Presence Chart: Use this chart to determine the creatures basic PRE score. Note that this is only a suggested value and can be modified depending on the Game Master's wishes. If the Game Master uses Horror Hero and it's extended PRE attack table, PRE attacks of EGO/PRE +40 or better can drive a character insane.

Creature's Size Table: This chart gives one a rough idea of a creature's size. 5th Edition Call of Cthulhu has a full Size Chart that breaks the numbers down a bit further. The chart also gives values for as high as Size 350. Note that some creatures, such as Dholes, go right off this chart.

In general CoC creatures have armor consisting of tough hide and thick skin. If a creature is invulnerable (or takes minimal damage) from some effect, then it should be given extra defenses vs that sort of attack as well as 3/4 Resistant Damage Reduction. Really big creatures may have "Cannot Be Stunned" as well. Creatures like Fire Vampires are Desolid, and all their attacks have "Affects the Real World."

Attacks: When determing the damage from a creature's attacks, compare the damage to the weapons chart found in Call of Cthulhu. Once a weapon that does a similar amount of damage is located, that weapon should be compared to the weapon charts found in various Hero sourcebooks. At this point the creature's attack damage can be converted into a HERO System killing attack.

More specialized attacks require the Game Master to read the description of the attack and creature the appropriate HERO System power. Blood drains are usually HERO System Drains. Other attack forms may be Ego Attacks, Energy Blasts or Transformation Attacks.

Spells are up to the individual Game Master. The best option is to read over the spell description in the Call of Cthulhu grimoire and then decide if it is appropriate for the character or monster to have and use. At that point, the Game Master should write up the spell from scratch, defining it as he sees fit based on the campaign setting and power level. The idea of SAN loss from spells should be ignored.

ADVANCED DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS
The usefulness of AD&D sourcebooks for a Silent Möbius game is debatable. Most of the extra-planar creatures found in the various Monster Manuals and Creature Compendiums are far to powerful for the average Silent Möbius game, as well as not having the right "look and feel."

GURPS has published a large number of sourcebooks over the years. Ones with useful creatures for a Silent Möbius campaign include GURPS Bloodtypes, China, Cthulhu Punk, Fantasy Bestiary, Japan, Undead, and War Against the Cthorr.

HERO System
As most HERO System books are out of print, it s hard to recommend any. If possible, Game Masters should look into the Fantasy Hero Companion I, the Hero Bestiary and Horror Hero. Most creatures will require some reworking to make them suitable for the setting.

RIFTS
Translating Rifts to Hero is beyond the scope of this article, as the author has no rules for translation to work from. Rifts seems a likely source of creatures, however, especially books like Rifts Japan.